Spa from hell

[anica2831]

Sorry this is a bit long but there is some venting that I need to get off my chest. Well, turns out, so much for the spa I have been working at. Turns out, their opening day was slow as molasses ( no wonder, they are starting to do marketing now, AFTER they opened :shock: ). And let's not go into the marketing part, they are all over the place not knowing what to do. Also, one of the owners was giving a tour to a couple of people that came in and he referred to me as the "masseuse" :shock: So once these people left, I took him aside and explained to him that he should refer to the other therapist and myself as massage therapists, and explained to him why. I never mind when people say that, as I have noticed that most people are not aware of the implications of this word, but come the heck on! The owner saying that???????? He seemed receptive at first, so then another client comes in and there he goes with the "masseuse" word again. Then he said it over and over to more clients :roll:
To make a long story short, the other therapist addressed this to him too, and then I addressed it to EVERYONE at the spa in a meeting. Next thing I know, the manager who is very good friends with me is raising her arms up in the air because the owners do not understand what the big deal is and they just laugh about it. Another one of the owners called me the "massager" :roll: I almost said to him, last time I checked, I have not changed my name to Homedics!
It gets better, yesterday, after I gave 4 massages already, I hear by accident that we will be deducted $ 5.00 per massage to pay for the cost of massage oil and lotion. This was NEVER addressed to me or the other therapist, so I spoke with one of the owners (the one who hired me as the rest were not in yesterday ) and told her that this was NEVER brought to my attention when she hired me, that I do not agree to this and I do not appreciate being taken advaneforum.xxxe of, that the cost of the oil is part of her spa expenses, so all that being said (in the most calm manner, I was so proud of myself ) I left the place. I was basically going to have a "surprise" when I got my check. I could go on and on with the series of dumb stuff these people do, trust me, there is more and they just opened on Saturday for crying out loud! They have NEVER opened a spa before and to put it in blunt terms, they are just coming up with STUPID ideas that are already discouraging the great staff they have, some of the girls already want to leave, yes...it is getting that bad. There is also no phone courtesy which totally shocked me. For example, if you call asking questions about a spa pedicure, they don't know what to say! They do not even know how to sell their spa menu, they just bluntly answer "what time do you want". The client has the right to be informed of the types of services we give, and as an owner, if you do not know the answer, let the person speak with the nail technician or simply let them know that you will find the answer and will call you back. Anyways, thank you everyone for letting me vent here, now, who will give me a massage please!

 

[Tino {20}]

congrats on following your good ole comman sense on this one. There is usually a little trial and error when starting a new venture, but this sounds like it runs deeper then that. You are right to get out now, from a place that shows you no respect. I hear lots of people staying in situations that are not for their own good, just complaing and moaning about it. You did something. Good for you!

 

[Riley S:)]

Yikes. I hope you have other applications out there and are following up on them!

 

[Hello!]

Spa from hell

Use this as a learning experience

Turns out, their opening day was slow as molasses ( no wonder, they are starting to do marketing now, AFTER they opened :shock:

EVERYONE'S opening day is slow as molassas. Unless you are selling XBox and Christmas, no one lines up outside the doors of ANY new business.

We advertised ourselves silly for two months before we opened (we are the only place in town that sells Kiehls in a very upscale community), have the best location in town (sandwiched between the top ladies boutique and the top ladies shoe store in town), opened our retail shop on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and we still did less than $1,000 in product sales.

A year later, we still have long-time residents wandering in saying "I had no idea you were here", and we do even more advertising than before, participate in every fundraiser and charity auction that comes our way, are active with the country club folks, etc.

It takes an average of 8 impressions for a consumer to retain and digest the information put in front of them to the point they will make a purchase. Your expectations - though they may have been set by the spa owners - were completely unrealistic.

I never mind when people say that, as I have noticed that most people are not aware of the implications of this word, but come the heck on! The owner saying that???????? He seemed receptive at first, so then another client comes in and there he goes with the "masseuse" word again. Then he said it over and over to more clients :roll:
To make a long story short, the other therapist addressed this to him too, and then I addressed it to EVERYONE at the spa in a meeting.

Even if this pisses you off - and folks here differ on how offensive that is - probably not a good move to raise it at the meeting. Correcting your boss or owners in front of others is about as productive as a manager calling you on the carpet in public as well.

How is it you did not hear this term at any point prior to opening day?

It gets better, yesterday, after I gave 4 massages already, I hear by accident that we will be deducted $ 5.00 per massage to pay for the cost of massage oil and lotion. This was NEVER addressed to me or the other therapist, so I spoke with one of the owners (the one who hired me as the rest were not in yesterday ) and told her that this was NEVER brought to my attention when she hired me, that I do not agree to this and I do not appreciate being taken advaneforum.xxxe of, that the cost of the oil is part of her spa expenses, so all that being said (in the most calm manner, I was so proud of myself ) I left the place.

Learning experience # 3 - get the terms of your employment / contract in writing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a product or linen charge, and if you are an IC, the spa is protecting itself from a claim that you are an employee by charging you for supplies. Maybe they thought you knew this (just because it may be common practice in the industry to do otherwise does not make it right). But most importantly, all terms and conditions should be put in writing. Hours, rate of pay, tip policy, charges, no shows policy (both MT and client) etc.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Hi Rose, Seattle and R & R.

Thank you so much for your comments and input. R & R I agree with you 100% and could not have worded it out better than you did. Why would your comment piss me off? I am glad that you were among the replies to this thread, as I am a lurker around here and I have become a bit of a fan of your replies

Truthfuly, I never heard this guy mention this word before because he was not around much in the beginning, then on the opening day, BAM! I heard him say it. I did bring him aside to discuss it, but the rest of the staff and I have the impression based also on their own experiences, that they are becoming very aprehensive when it comes to learning, it's like their ego gets in the way somehow, it sure wasn't the impression they gave us at first.

My expectations on opening day were not high, but more to at least, getting people in asking questions, but again like you said R&R, learning experience. We all had the feeling that it could be slow that day so in the meantime, the other therapist and I were reviewing certain massage techniques, spa procedures, simply getting together and doing some brainstorming. It seems that the owners had very high expectations that day and seems to me that they are somehow "freaking out" already. But anyways, I am glad I can flip the page now.

Thank you everyone, as usual, your comments are GREATELY appreciated!

 

[Susan L]

Spa from hell

EVERYONE'S opening day is slow as molassas. Unless you are selling XBox and Christmas, no one lines up outside the doors of ANY new business.

And Wii's. My boyfriend looked everywhere for a Wii to buy one day and he had to wait several days to locate one in stock. (Sorry, wayy off topic.)

 

[dontknowlawns]

R & R I agree with you 100% and could not have worded it out better than you did. Why would your comment piss me off? I am glad that you were among the replies to this thread, as I am a lurker around here and I have become a bit of a fan of your replies

I have to admit...I am a fan of R&R's posts too. They are always informative and as a newbie to this business I appreciate the info.

 

[natural glow]

Why would your comment piss me off?

I meant use of the term "masseuse", not my comments. I mean really, since when did I ever preface a comment with concerns of if someone would take offense?

I am glad that you were among the replies to this thread, as I am a lurker around here and I have become a bit of a fan of your replies

Glad to be of help.

 

[mikezz]

Ohhhh OK! I am following now

And the thought did cross my mind, you are very outspoken and I have never seen you concerned about what others thought about your opinions.

Now enough sweet talkin! LOL

 

[Yikes!]

R & R I agree with you 100% and could not have worded it out better than you did. Why would your comment piss me off? I am glad that you were among the replies to this thread, as I am a lurker around here and I have become a bit of a fan of your replies

I have to admit...I am a fan of R&R's posts too. They are always informative and as a newbie to this business I appreciate the info.

Count me in too

Healer_guide, I'm sorry this happend to you. Some places are just cr@ppily run (is that a word? LOL). I've been there, done that, and I have an idea how you feel.

Are you an IC or employee? If you're an IC, did you have a contract, with all the terms spelled out in writing? (Such as your compensation, your expenses, etc.) They seem fishy--"forgetting" to tell you about expenses such as those? And per massage, too--$5 can really add up, especially depending on how well they're paying you. Some spa owners are great and some aren't, and it sounds like these knuckleheads couldn't raise a dog. The incidents themselves seem relatively minor to me, but the thing is that they add up to an overall clueless picture and I wouldn't depend on such people to properly run the place at which I feed my family, ya know?

I wish you the best of luck, please keep us posted!
Hugs,
~Jyoti

 

[Tim C]

Hi Rocky and jyoti,

Yes, the place is being poorly managed, which is a shame. I also noticed another issue, there are 4 owners here, 3 of them are members of the same family (mother and 2 sons) and the other owner is another lady that is not related to them, it seems to me that they "gang up" against her, and she has a strong tendency to be a people pleaser and does not stand up for herself. Trust me, I have a lot more stories that I have compiled in just a couple of days, this other owner is not a massage therapist nor esthaetician and she wanted to do the scrubs and mud wraps herself also.

I live in a very small town here, and I personally do not think that spas in this area formalize anything in writing, not making excuses, it is simply how I feel some of these places are being run here. Maybe this is happening so I can start working with my own private clientele, I believe that if we look really close, we can find a great opportunity and turn it into something that can work out for us, we sometimes just have to look a bit closer.

 

[=(emoislove)=]

By the way, forgot to mention. Here's an update, I spoke with the other therapist, and the other 3 owners told her that the $ 5.00 was not for product but for credit card costs. Now, what gives??? I'll just keep on walking...

 

[gemini6187]

By the way, forgot to mention. Here's an update, I spoke with the other therapist, and the other 3 owners told her that the $ 5.00 was not for product but for credit card costs. Now, what gives??? I'll just keep on walking...

Oh my. $5 for EACH massage to cover credit card transactions? Well, here's what I find wrong with that... :twisted:

First, what about when the client pays with cash or check? Do you still get the $5 deducted off those massages too, or are you spared the expense for those massages?

Second, $5 is way high. Credit card companies only charge anywhere from 2.5 to 4.5% of the transaction, averaging about 3.25%. Based on the average %, if the massage itself doesn't cost about $150 average, they're making a profit off of YOU by charging you more than the credit card company charges them.

Feel free to walk No matter where you go, please do insist on getting EVERYTHING in writing before starting work at any new place. Don't accept any excuses. If they're weary about signing a contract or drawing one up, keep moving, because they're probably shady. Working without a contract is playing with fire! If they present you with a pre-made contract (which is pretty common), that's OK--but read through it carefully and carefully consider whether or not those terms are truly acceptable to you on a long-term basis. If not, keep moving. It's scary to turn down a job when you're looking. But, send a message to these people and eventually they will get the message that we're not going to take cr@p from the bad owners out there. If enough of us do that, eventually we'll change things for the better--and for good.

DO NOT worry...the right thing will happen at the right time! My mom always told me that and at times I thought she was crazy. It felt like things would never go my way. Eventually, things work themselves out and when they do, it usually ends up better than what I was hoping for! It's a pattern I continue to observe to this day

We're pulling for you
Hugs!
~Jyoti

 

[kandy-x]

Jyoti,

You are right. I discussed this with the other therapist and we both agree that they are all over the place to put it in blunt terms. And, the same way I explained to them that I never agreed to the $ 5.00 charge (and I was told it was to cover for the massage oil, not the credit card story they gave the other therapist), is the same way that next time, if I ever decide to work for a spa again, I will make sure I get everything in writing, and if they do not want to do that, then I will simply work on my own or keep on looking. I ran a couple of ads in nearby communities, they will start running tomorrow so I will see how that goes too. And yes, sometimes out of what seems to be a situation we do not like, something good always comes afterwards, my sister taught me that one time and I also live by that philosophy, glad to hear you live by those words also.

 

[Dawn G]

... if I ever decide to work for a spa again, I will make sure I get everything in writing, and if they do not want to do that, then I will simply work on my own or keep on looking....

Learning Experience #4 - don't think these woes are exclusive to a spa environment. Chiro offices, massage clinics, therapist co-ops, renting your own space all have their own perils

Whether it is a lease, contract or employment terms, get it in writing.

YOu should also think long and hard about if and how to include this experience in future interviews.

 

[prettypinklucy]

Hi R&R.

I have heard and read some similar issues with other places like you mention, I know that issues like this are not exclusive to a spa environment. The thing is, my preference is working at a spa, but like I mentioned before, I will keep on looking. I still believe, that "formality" is not a big thing in the small town I live, but again, I agree, everything should be in writing. How I come across with this during an interview? Learning experience # 5.

 

[g m]

That is a great life lesson. Make sure everything is in writing.

 

[blackflamez951]

That is a great life lesson. Make sure everything is in writing.

This is why I LOVE this forum. I learn so much from the experiences shared here. Now "I" know more when I go out and interview for my next job.

 

[TheAnswer]

:iagree:

This is the BEST forum!

 

[ETAK]

Stuff like this is why I slave-labored to update a 42-page employee handbook when acquiring an established massage business, then collected questions and held a store meeting at the end of our first week to clarify things for everyone. My partner and I are massage therapists with management and marketing backgrounds, and we want our employees to LOVE what they do and where they do it!

I am sorry you had such an unpleasant experience, but there are many other places you can work. I wish you the best of luck in finding the right place!